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Exhibitions

Description

The MCA’s exhibitions feature the art of our time in every possible media by artists of local and international renown. Explore the variety of MCA exhibitions on view now, coming up next, or from our rich past. Images in this section are published for educational use under the umbrella of the Fair Use doctrine.

Exhibitions

Short A black-and-white photo of the Chicago skyline from the north shore of Lake Michigan is overlaid with rectangular color image fragments of the same view. The color images add and subtract people from the lakefront view.

Short A black-and-white photograph of two men shaking hands is mounted to a light-colored piece of wood.

Long A black-and-white photograph with white borders is affixed to a small wood board with photo corners. The photo shows a scene in a supper club or restaurant. It features two fair-skinned, dark-haired men in suits standing, shaking hands. The man on the left holds a small box and the man on the right extends his left hand to receive it. In the foreground, two seated, light-skinned people with long dark glossy hair look up at the men from their table. The two men look directly at us. A date stamp reading "JAN 3 1968" appears in the bottom border of the photo. The ends of two knotted leather cords emerge above and below the photo on the left side of the wooden board, seemingly binding the board like a book cover. A signature reading "Edward Ruscha" appears on the board in blue ink below the image, and the initials "B.A.B." are signed and underlined in black on the wood above the mounted photograph.

Short A nude adult with masculine shoulders wears cowboy boots on their hands and feet. They stand on one of their hands with their feet splayed across the corner of a room lit in red.

Long A person poses dramatically balanced on one arm, limbs spread in various directions–each adorned with a cowboy boot. One booted arm points towards us and both legs splay out to touch the walls of the nearby corner. The person faces away from you, back flexing from the contortion of their pose. The lighting of the photograph is dramatic and dream-like, with one light source casting red shadows and an orange glow, while another light casts green shadows. The figure's shadow spreads across the wall revealing the outline of male genitals.

Next

Short The words "DEATH," "LOVE," "HATE," "PLEASURE," "PAIN," and "LIFE" appear in illuminated neon, organized in a circle against a black background. In order, their colors are orange, purple, pink, green, and blue.

Short A man stands amidst tall, wispy plant stalks about twice his height. He holds a machete and two bundles of dried up stalks in front of him to make an "X" shape.

Long A brown-skinned field worker wearing a yellow baseball cap, royal blue shirt and pants, and protective legwear stands in the center of a small clearing and looks directly at you. He is holding a machete and two bundles of harvested sugarcane stalks. The stalks extend well beyond his head and are held at two angles to cross at his center forming an "X." A wall of tall green sugarcane foliage rises up directly behind him against a pale blue sky. His feet disappear into a blanket of brown sugarcane leaves.

Long Two people perform in an empty outdoor parking lot, one lunging and one leaning back, with their arms extended forward and wrists flexed. They seem to face each other, but the masculine person is closer to you and the feminine person is several paces further back. Their dark skin is highlighted by bright sunlight shining toward you that casts their shadows on the asphalt. The sky is blue and palm trees are in the background.

Short A photograph of a light-colored rock formation shows a cross-section of sediment lines.

Long A photographic print of a desert scene features a rock formation against a blue sky on a sun-filled day. The formation is made up of layers of sediment colored in a range of cream, sand, tan, and umber. The sun rakes across the surface to reveal the texture of the rock and creates long shadows. The central sediment lines are squiggly, winding horizontally across the surface of the rock. Dark crevices appear at the base of the formation and small, dried-up vegetation grows sporadically across the rocky ground. It appears as though it could dried-up riverbed.

Short A black tapestry speckled with silver arrowheads depicts two pairs of orange legs, one wearing a skirt, with flat, geometric shapes in place of torsos and heads. The pair is connected at the hip and each stands on a crystalline mound.

Short Five glowing white orbs seem to float above branches against a deep blue background.

Short Five glowing white orbs are arranged in two columns against a textured blue background with thin branches and colorful leaves.

Short Five glowing white orbs seem to float above branches against a deep blue background.

Short Five glowing white orbs are arranged in two columns against a textured blue background with thin branches and colorful leaves.

Short Five glowing white orbs seem to float above branches against a deep blue background.

Short Five glowing white orbs are arranged in two columns against a textured blue background with thin branches and colorful leaves.

Short Five glowing white orbs seem to float above branches against a deep blue background.

Short Five glowing white orbs are arranged in two columns against a textured blue background with thin branches and colorful leaves.

Short Five glowing white orbs seem to float above branches against a deep blue background.

Short Five glowing white orbs are arranged in two columns against a textured blue background with thin branches and colorful leaves.

Long In this vertical painting, the background consists of a rich, saturated blue mottled with areas of both lighter and darker blue. Extending vertically across the background are three thin, dark brown branches. From these branches sprout small leaves of various reds, blues, pinks, and purples. The branches also bear three ghostly, translucent apples distinguished from the background only by white outlines. The most dominant element of the painting are five large white orbs, each with a faintly translucent white glow. Three of the orbs are aligned vertically on the left half of the painting, while the other two are arranged vertically starting at the upper-right hand corner. This leaves the background of the bottom right corner fully exposed.

Long In this vertical painting, the background consists of a rich, saturated blue mottled with areas of both lighter and darker blue. Extending vertically across the background are three thin, dark brown branches. From these branches sprout small leaves of various reds, blues, pinks, and purples. The branches also bear three ghostly, translucent apples distinguished from the background only by white outlines. The most dominant element of the painting are five large white orbs, each with a faintly translucent white glow. Three of the orbs are aligned vertically on the left half of the painting, while the other two are arranged vertically starting at the upper-right hand corner. This leaves the background of the bottom right corner fully exposed.

Long In this vertical painting, the background consists of a rich, saturated blue mottled with areas of both lighter and darker blue. Extending vertically across the background are three thin, dark brown branches. From these branches sprout small leaves of various reds, blues, pinks, and purples. The branches also bear three ghostly, translucent apples distinguished from the background only by white outlines. The most dominant element of the painting are five large white orbs, each with a faintly translucent white glow. Three of the orbs are aligned vertically on the left half of the painting, while the other two are arranged vertically starting at the upper-right hand corner. This leaves the background of the bottom right corner fully exposed.

Long In this vertical painting, the background consists of a rich, saturated blue mottled with areas of both lighter and darker blue. Extending vertically across the background are three thin, dark brown branches. From these branches sprout small leaves of various reds, blues, pinks, and purples. The branches also bear three ghostly, translucent apples distinguished from the background only by white outlines. The most dominant element of the painting are five large white orbs, each with a faintly translucent white glow. Three of the orbs are aligned vertically on the left half of the painting, while the other two are arranged vertically starting at the upper-right hand corner. This leaves the background of the bottom right corner fully exposed.

Long In this vertical painting, the background consists of a rich, saturated blue mottled with areas of both lighter and darker blue. Extending vertically across the background are three thin, dark brown branches. From these branches sprout small leaves of various reds, blues, pinks, and purples. The branches also bear three ghostly, translucent apples distinguished from the background only by white outlines. The most dominant element of the painting are five large white orbs, each with a faintly translucent white glow. Three of the orbs are aligned vertically on the left half of the painting, while the other two are arranged vertically starting at the upper-right hand corner. This leaves the background of the bottom right corner fully exposed.